Apple has announced that, for a period, it will not charge its usual 30% fee from developers for certain content on the App Store.
The decision follows criticism from Facebook, which said Apple was making life harder for small businesses by refusing to waive the fees that all developers must pay for transactions made through the App Store. This complaint specifically related to a new feature in Facebook where companies could charge for online events such as courses, yoga lessons and the like.
The criticism seems to have touched Apple, because now CNBC reports that Apple is indeed waiving the 30% fee in the cases of such online events, leaving more in the pocket for the companies that organise them. The let-off applies to payment for digital events until the end of the year, and will also apply to other services such as Airbnb.
Beyond Facebook’s complaint, however, it’s likely that Apple is acutely conscious this year of the way it’s perceived to treat its app developer partners, and of the frequency with which it is accused of anticompetitive behaviour.
A series of investigations (in the US, EU and Australia) and complaints and lawsuits from numerous companies (such as Spotify and Epic Games as well as Facebook) have shone a spotlight on the company’s dominant position in the App Store, and the fees and rules it enforces.
Update: Apple has since agreed to halve App Store fees for small businesses.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by David Price.